With appetite for fine wine and dairy products booming on Alibaba’s import-focussed Tmall platform, it’s not surprising that chairman Jack Ma has his eyes on New Zealand. Though the e-commerce billionaire’s love for the country is apparently not just just commercially driven. During a Q&A session yesterday with the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, Ma hinted that he was potentially interested in buying land in the southern island, calling it the “dream land.”

A contractor has sprayed seven Marlborough vineyards with the wrong chemical, costing the grapegrowers around $1.6 million in lost revenue, a viticulturist says. The affected vineyards, about 5 kilometres from Blenheim in the Wairau Plain, were sprayed using a fertiliser that makes the wine produced unfit for export. Consultant viticulturist Murray Paterson, who was brought in to advise one of the growers, said the phosphorus and potassium-based fertiliser, Perk Supa, was used by the contractor in March.

MOUNT Stapylton Wines in the Grampians will release its 2014 Ivan Shiraz at the Grampians Grape Escape wine dinner later this month. Mount Stapylton plans to release the Shiraz at a dinner at the Comfort Inn Country Plaza at Halls Gap on Saturday, April 30. The Mount Stapylton Shiraz wines consistently rank in the top 40 Shiraz wines in the largest international competitions in the world.

TURNING off the main highway I am struck by the immediate sense of calm that envelops me as I leave the city behind and enter New South Wales’ Hunter Valley wine region. Where busy city streets are replaced by perfect rows of vineyards and winding roads. But the Hunter Valley I remember has changed.

Sweetwater estate – billed the “most significant vineyard in Australia” – was withdrawn from its Tuesday auction despite its original $30 million asking price being halved to $15 million. Alan Jurd, of Jurd’s, said it was withdrawn on Tuesday morning and is now being offered with a $12 million asking price. The property has garnered strong interest from Asian buyers, some of whom had requested an 18-month settlement given problems moving their money out of China, according to Jurd.

A FORMER director of the region’s largest winery, Casella Wines, has fronted court over a massive marijuana haul. A $5 million cannabis plantation was discovered in Crowther two years ago. Marcello Casella, son of the Casella Wines founder, and Andre Turner appeared before magistrate Peter Dare SC in Young Local Court this month. A third man, Francesco Polimeni, also allegedly involved in the drug bust, also appeared.

Denis Malbec was born to be a winemaker, family and friends said. In fact, Malbec was born at the Château Latour in Pauillac, France, where his father and grandfather both worked and where he later would become the cellar master and enologist. He later moved with his wife, May-Britt, to the North Coast, where he became a consulting winemaker at prestigious brands throughout Napa and Sonoma counties.

Bringing in the grapes is a nervous time for a co-operative’s growers, but there is nothing but smiles on their faces during a “dream” harvest. Marlborough’s annual wine harvest is drawing to an end but there will be no let up until the last grape has been picked. Working 24 hours around the clock have been harvesters, truck drivers, supervisors and growers for the past two to three weeks throughout the region.

The Marlborough wine growing region is expected to be fully planted within the next few years and several changes are expected to impact the globally-recognised area. Peter Yealands, one of the largest producers in the region famous for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, told TheShout he believes all the land available for growing wine may be developed within the next few years.

Evans & Tate is Margaret River’s biggest winery, but brand manager George Stupart says its marketing strategy is to ensure it is viewed as not just the biggest but also the best. “We are strongly focused on our customers’ needs and approach everything we do with the mantra ‘how can we add value to our customer’s business?’ We continue to place strong focus on the basics – range, pricing, logistics – and our sales teams work closely with all our customers at various levels to uncover specific opportunities for growth,” Stupart said.